Indianapolis 500 Bump Day puts Simon Pagenaud on pole

Indianapolis 500 qualifying Sunday saw Simon Pagenaud earn his first Indy 500 pole, while Fernando Alonso was among three drivers who won’t be racing.

Simon Pagenaud is the 2019 Indianapolis 500 pole sitter, continuing a hot streak for the former IndyCar champion going into the season’s biggest race.

The No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet driver posted a four-lap average speed of 229.992 MPH to get his first-ever pole for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, after winning last weekend’s Indycar Grand Prix.

Pagenaud beat out three-time Indy 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter by a decent margin (229.889), but Ed Carpenter Racing still had plenty to smile about with Carpenter, Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones capturing positions two through four on Sunday.

The Fast Nine was rounded out by IndyCar Classic winner Colton Herta, then Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais and Josef Newgarden. Power is the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner while Newgarden is the current NTT IndyCar Series points leader, so there’s plenty on the line in the first three rows.

While Pagenaud celebrated, three drivers saw their Indianapolis 500 dreams end earlier in the afternoon, during the Last Row Qualifying. Six cars were eligible for only three spots at the back of the grid for next weekend’s race.

After being delayed by pouring rain, the last three drivers in were Sage Karam, James Hinchcliffe (making a solid rebounded after being bumped last year), and Kyle Kaiser with a strong run for the single-car Juncos Racing squad.

Unfortunately, that meant Carlin Racing’s two full-time drivers, Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward, did not make the race. Charlie Kimball will be the only Carlin driver participating, and he will start in 20th based on yesterday’s qualifying results.

But most of the talk around Indianapolis Motor Speedway was about Fernando Alonso, who came up short in his bid to enter a second Indianapolis 500. Alonso’s average speed of 227.353 left him on the outside by 0.019 behind Kyle Kaiser, and well behind the 227.740 posted by Karam.

Rumors are already circulating that McLaren may now try to buy another driver’s spot on the grid so that Alonso can still participate in the May 26 race, but there is no official indication they intend to do so. For now, the most hyped team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not actually be there when the green flag drops on the 2019 Indianapolis 500.

Full Indianapolis 500 qualifying results are available here.

The 2019 Indy 500 takes place May 26 at 11 a.m. ET. For complete coverage of the 2019 IndyCar season, follow the IndyCar category at FanSided.